A sentence of 10 years' imprisonment (half the then-maximum of 20 years) was upheld for a manslaughter involving an unprovoked savage assault on a vulnerable, defenceless woman followed by abandonment, where the offender showed no remorse and contested the trial. Sentences for manslaughter in Western Australia have in recent years tended to increase. The absence of a specific cause of death finding, the absence of a weapon, and the absence of post-death aggravating conduct do not diminish the seriousness of the offending — they merely show the offending could have been worse.
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